Iraqi lawmakers called off a scheduled session of parliament on Tuesday as squabbling political factions said they needed more time to decide who will hold the nation's highest offices.

More than four-and-a-half months after a March election voters hoped would bring stable governance after years of war, Iraq appears no closer to a new government as US troops prepare to bring a formal end to combat operations by August 31.

Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish political factions that have been negotiating for a new government since the inconclusive election remain stuck on a choice for prime minister and other top posts.

Haidar al-Ibadi, a senior member of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition, said he feared the formation of a new government could take until after Ramadan, which ends in mid-September this year.

'Extending this period can weaken the country and Iraq's enemies can take advantage of this for sure,' al-Ibadi said.
'They will also take advantage of the political disagreement by carrying out more terrorist actions.'

Bombings and other attacks remain common occurrences in Iraq despite a significant drop in overall violence since the height of the sectarian slaughter in 2006-07. But insurgents appear to be trying to take advantage of a political vacuum as politicians try to sort out a new government.

In the latest major attack, bombers killed about 20 people and wounded dozens more in an attack on a Shi'ite pilgrimage near Kerbala on Monday.

Al-Ibadi said lawmakers had not set a new date for the postponed parliamentary session out of concern they would not reach an agreement by that date.

The scheduled session, which would have been just the second since the election, was postponed before it started.

Lawmakers and negotiators for the blocs have repeatedly said the top offices, prime minister, president and parliament speaker, are a package deal and cannot be decided separately.

The cross-sectarian Iraqiya alliance led by secularist former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi won 91 seats in the March election, two more than the State of Law block headed by the Shi'ite incumbent, Maliki.

Because no bloc scored a clear win, factions have been negotiating to bring together enough seats for a parliamentary majority. But they have been unable to agree on a prime minister, with both Maliki and Allawi laying claim to the post.

Lawmakers held the first session of parliament on June 14 but it lasted barely 20 minutes. The second session was scheduled for two weeks ago but was postponed.

At that time some lawmakers said the constitutional deadline for picking a new president had been violated.-Reuters